General Motors has been on the upswing in their home market lately, at least compared to Ford and Chrysler, but its US performance pales compared to the automaker's action in China. General Motors China just released their first quarter sales figures and they are up twenty-five percent compared to 2006. For the second time in 2007, March sales cracked the 100,000 unit barrier.

GM's total market share in China now stands at 13.9%, 0.5% more than last year. Buick remains the dominant brand in the Chinese stable with 82,195 cars out the door and Cadillac also jumped 62% in the quarter to 1,797 cars, thanks in part to the new SLS long wheelbase derivative of the STS. The GM press release is after the jump.

Shanghai, China – General Motors China announced today that GM and its joint ventures in mainland China sold 291,588 vehicles in the first three months of 2007, representing a year-on-year increase of 25.0 percent.

GM benefited from especially strong sales in March of 100,538 vehicles. It was the second time this year and the second time in GM's history in which monthly sales broke the 100,000-unit mark. This helped drive GM's first-quarter market share in China to an estimated 13.9 percent, an increase of 0.5 percent on an annual basis.

"Coming off a record year in 2006, China's vehicle market has remained remarkably strong thus far in 2007. The key once again is demand for passenger cars, which has showed no signs of slowing," said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group.

"Despite a greater selection of competitive products than ever before, GM and our joint ventures continued to outpace the market in the first quarter," said Wale. "We are pleased with sales of many of our established products such as the Buick Excelle and Buick GL8 and many of our newer models such as the Cadillac SLS and next-generation Chevrolet Epica."

Shanghai GM's first-quarter sales rose 26.5 percent from a year earlier to 113,768 vehicles. Sales of SAIC-GM-Wuling's lineup of mini-vehicles increased 24.0 percent from a year earlier to 177,077 units.

GM's flagship brand, Buick, registered sales growth of 25.3 percent year on year to 82,195 vehicles, with the Excelle family remaining its best-selling model. Sales of products from Chevrolet, GM's second mainstream brand in China, rose 19.0 percent to 41,144 vehicles in the first quarter. The Chevrolet Spark enjoyed its second-highest monthly sales ever of 4,428 units in March, while the new Chevrolet Epica generated sales of 3,629 units in its single month on the market in March. GM's luxury nameplate, Cadillac, had sales growth of 62.2 percent in the first quarter to 1,797 units.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

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